We are among hundreds of Chicago educators who would welcome critics to visit one of the 120 city schools implementing new models for learning – with and without technology. Because, as it turns out, Chicago is fast becoming a hub for personalized learning. And, it is no coincidence that our academic growth rates are also among the highest in the nation. Before personalized learning, we designed our classrooms around the educator. Decisions were made based on how educators preferred to...

Parents and teachers from Dixon High School met at the Historic Dixon Theatre on Wednesday May 23, to learn how to help students process all they saw and heard when police say a fellow student came into the school and started shooting. “(My daughter) saw the bullet holes patched up and that was really hard for her. She did not want to go back into the gym,” says Reni Whitcolbe. The Illinois Education Association hosted a community screening of Paper Tigers, a movie about an alternative...

Ms. T., 75, came to see me for therapy after a man stole her purse. He was in a car and lured her over under the guise of asking directions. Then he grabbed her bag and stepped on the accelerator. She was dragged halfway down the block before she let go. When I saw her a month later, she was still in physical pain from her injuries and emotional pain from having endured a traumatic experience. Ms. T. had raised three successful children as a single mother, while enjoying a prosperous career...

Police chiefs, sheriffs and state’s attorneys called on Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly to maintain about $17 million to human service programs and add $50 million to early childhood programs to prevent future opiate addicts. Helping at-risk children, particularly with home visits from human services officials, is a proven part of a winning strategy to fighting the opioid epidemic in Illinois, according to the law enforcement officials with the group Fight Crime: Invest...

For years, communities in Chicago have grappled with poverty , systemic racism and violence , and too few viable economic opportunities , particularly for men of color. For young people in Chicago , gun violence is nothing new. But a program called Chicago CRED (Creating Real Economic Destiny) has been working to combat the ubiquity of gun violence with an unconventional approach. Run by former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the program tries to break the cycle of violence by...

For years, pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke Harris treated children’s chronic conditions the way she was taught in medical school: Prescribing medication to ease symptoms. But it was a conversation with a 10-year-old patient’s mother that got her thinking differently. “The mother said to me, and I’ll never forget this, ‘I noticed my daughter’s asthma acts up every time her dad punches a hole in the wall,’” Dr. Burke Harris told a crowd of Erikson Institute supporters, alumni, faculty, and staff...

Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) is a vibrant learning collaborative of fourteen sites actively engaged in building the movement for a just, healthy and resilient world. Using the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and resiliency as their organizing framework, these communities have built strong cross-sector networks to help heal and prevent early childhood adversity. From October 2016 through May 2017, we were privileged to travel to all fourteen MARC...

Reminder of tomorrow's ( Wednesday, January 10, 10am PST/1:00 PM EST) webinar on State Policy Approaches to Addressing Childhood Adversity Please join us for a three -part learning series hosted by the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity and ACEs Connection . We'll hear from states that are making great strides towards adopting trauma-informed policies and practices. Three-Part Learning Series: Webinar 1: Overview of State Level Efforts to Address Childhood Adversity and...

Jahkil Jackson is going to have a hard time topping 2017, but something tells me he'll find a way. The 10-year-old Chicagoan set out last year to create 5,000 blessing bags and distribute them to people who are homeless. The bags include soap, toothpaste, shampoo and other toiletries, socks and a healthy snack. On Dec. 28, he packed his 5,000th bag. On Dec. 29, Barack Obama tweeted about him. The former president was on an end-of-the-year hope-spreading mission, tweeting out a collection of...

Please join us for a three -part learning series hosted by the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity and ACEs Connection . We'll hear from states that are making great strides towards adopting trauma-informed policies and practices. Three-Part Learning Series: Webinar 1: Overview of State Level Efforts to Address Childhood Adversity and Highlights from Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin Date: January 10th, 10AM PST (1:00 PM EST) Speakers: Elizabeth Prewitt, Policy Analyst, ACEs...

Yet their friendship is a reflection of what they celebrated together Sunday evening at the rabbi's home. The ritual of lighting the menorah during the eight days of Hanukkah reminds Jewish people of how a tiny bit of oil was able to create light in the darkness for much longer than expected, just as the bond between the two families has continued to illuminate their lives, months after their chance meeting during a protest against the Trump administration's travel ban in February at O'Hare...

Tuesday, November 28, 2017, Supernormal: Stories of Adversity, Resilience, and Growth, 7:00 PM, Evanston Township High School Auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave., Evanston, 60201. Whether it is bullying, the loss of a parent to divorce or death, an alcoholic or mentally ill family member, domestic violence, neglect, or emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, early adversities are experienced by nearly 75% of us. But these experiences are often kept secret, as are our courageous battles to overcome...